Mumbai, Aug 22 (KNN) The Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MoMSME) Nitin Gadkari said the government is planning to take the contribution of MSME sector to the country’s total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to upto 50 per cent from the current 29 per cent.

He was speaking at the celebration of  listing of 200th company on the National Stock Exchange’s (NSE’s) SME platform EMERGE.

Gadkari said, "The MSME sector contributes 29 per cent to country's GDP, and the government plans to take it to 50 per cent in next 5 years."

Gadkari added that the sector currently employs about 11 crore people and the government would take this figure to 15 crore in the next 5 years.

NSE Emerge Platform has helped SMEs raise Rs 3,136 crore, and has a market capitalization of Rs 8,800 crore.

Of the 200 companies listed on NSE Emerge, 22 SMEs have over time migrated to the main board of NSE.

According to unofficial estimates, there are 6 crore MSMEs in the country, Gadkari said.

He said the government has launched 'Udyog Mitra' - to encourage people to register their MSMEs.

He added that the government is launching an e-commerce project called 'Bharatcraft' for MSMEs, similar to online shopping portals. (KNN Bureau)